Council moves to reassure Calderdale residents after London tower block blaze

Calderdale Council is working with its partner agencies to reassure residents in Calderdale after news of the London tower block blaze broke yesterday (Wednedsay).

Hundreds of firefighters were sent to Grenfell Tower in north Kensington, as large plumes of smoke billowed above the capital after the blaze broke out in the early hours the morning.

Police have confirmed that at least 12 people have died and the death toll is expected to rise.

Leader of Calderdale Council, Councillor Tim Swift said: “We share with the rest of the country our sadness at this terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with all of those who have been affected. The Union Flag will fly at half mast today at Halifax Town Hall as a mark of respect and support.

“I would also like to thank the emergency services, the Fire Service, Police, Ambulance and Health Service, which responded immediately, working with courage and compassion in such difficult circumstances.

“We understand that this incident may have raised concerns within our communities, and we are working with our local housing providers, such as Together Housing, to provide reassurance.”

Together Housing Group, which is responisble for flats and housing also issued following the devastating incident.

In a statement it said: “Together Housing Group, like everyone in the housing sector, were horrified to hear of the fire in a London high rise tower block last night and our thoughts are with all those affected, their friends and their families.

“Together Housing maintain a number of high rise blocks in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester in which fire safety is taken extremely seriously.

“We work in partnership with our colleagues in the local fire services and with professional fire risk assessors to make sure our procedures reflect best practice and are kept up-to-date.

“We would like to reassure all our tenants and nearby residents that we are confident that everything possible is done to ensure they are protected and kept safe.

“We are, however, as a precaution, double checking all of our procedures today and, over the coming weeks, will be re-issuing our fire safety advice to tenants.

“We would ask that, in the meantime, they take note of the procedures in their accommodation and contact us immediately if they are concerned or want that advice to be re-issued.

“In the coming months we expect there will be much reflection on the cause and response to the fire in London.

“We will be paying close attention to that and reacting to any lessons learned to modify our procedures if required and will advise tenants if we do this.”